Unlike those original films from the first half of the 1970s, though, the new “Black Dynamite” is an affectionate spoof in which every costume is just a little too funky, every man just a little too fly.

Unfortunately, the jokes themselves are just a little too flat.

Michael Jai White, the karate champion turned actor, is “Black Dynamite!” — as everyone exclaims when he enters a room — an ex-CIA assassin turned protector of the ’hood, and lover of the ladies.

But there’s a new deadly drug flooding the streets, and starting a war — and Black Dynamite’s little brother has been caught in the crossfire. Time for some righteous whuppings!

It’s all silly stuff, of course, although familiar to anyone who ever sat through a Fred Williamson movie or two. And White (who also co-wrote the script) and director Scott Sanders clearly have seen their share.

The film pays fond tribute to those movies’ cramped budgets (using the same, mismatched stock footage of a car crash, or letting a boom mike creep into a shot). And the acting is uniformly, intentionally hammy.

But although the cast list assembles a number of familiar names (including Bokeem Woodbine, Tommy Davidson and even Arsenio Hall) nobody gets too much to do. And White isn’t funny or charismatic enough to hold things together on his own.

True, there’s a real love of the genre here, and an honest effort to draw in all its clichés, from Mafia kingpins to kung-fu masters. There are even a few good jokes (until things go off track with a crude subplot co-starring racist sexual stereotypes and Richard Nixon). But the film could have used a few more colorful characters from the actual films (really, Antonio Fargas isn’t that busy). It could have used a better villain (again, Sid Haig — I’m sure he’s in the book). And it could have used a better script.

If you want a small, nostalgic remembrance of the days of “Truck Turner” or “Foxy Brown,” this will do okay as a rental in a few months. But you might have more fun checking out the old Keenen Ivory Wayans spoof “I’m Gonna Git You, Sucka” instead. Or maybe just going back to the old, velvet-suited, pimped-out original sources themselves.

Stephen Whitty may be reached at swhitty@starledger.com or (212) 790-4435.